Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award

Recognizes a Chicago-Kent alumnus/alumna who has demonstrated a strong commitment to pro bono legal services throughout their career.

Katie Jahnke Dale ’11

Katie Jahnke Dale represents developers, purchasers, sellers, and owners of institutional, residential, and commercial property in securing development and zoning approvals, negotiating and implementing public-private development and financing arrangements and incentives, performing general and zoning due diligence, and negotiating and closing real estate acquisitions and dispositions.

Dale has played a leading role in obtaining zoning and public financing approvals for several of Chicago's largest developments in recent years. In addition, she has led teams to secure zoning and Class L approvals for many of the significant projects in Chicago's Fulton Market District, one of the hottest neighborhoods for development in the United States.

Dale serves as a member of DLA Piper's Chicago and North American Pro Bono Committee and spent her first year at DLA Piper as one of the firm's two inaugural Krantz Fellows working exclusively on pro bono matters for their first year. Her time during the fellowship was apportioned between the firm's national signature project, Advancing Education's Promise, which seeks to improve educational outcomes for children, and New Perimeter, DLA Piper's nonprofit affiliate dedicated to global pro bono projects.

Dale continues to be passionate about pro bono work. She has traveled to Bogota, Colombia to conduct training on pro bono; Kathmandu, Nepal to train women attorneys in commercial law; and Warsaw, Poland to facilitate training on gender-based violence. Domestically, many of her recent pro bono matters involve representing immigration clients.

She regularly supports current Chicago-Kent students with her involvement in programs such as ConneKtions @ Dinner, Coffee ConneKtions, speaking on panels, and mentoring students formally and informally.